Device for washing ores in river-bottoms



(No Modem v G. F. PIKE.

DEVIGE FOR WASHING ORES IN RIVER BOTTOMS.

No. 532,182. Patented Jan. 8,18%.

THE NORRIS virus so. Puo'roumo. WASHINGTON: u. c

U i'ren STATES PATENT heron. I

DEVICE FOR WASHING ORES lN RIVER-BQTTOMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,182, dated January 8, 1895. I Application filed December 1,1894. Serial No. 530,538. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES FREDERICK PIKE, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Washing Ores in River-Bottoms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this'specilication.

My invention has relation to appliances for raising river bottom material containing gold or other ores to washing or concentrating appliances; and it has for its object the provision of dredging or elevating appliances for raising the river bottom material, and a separate sweeping device which brushes the ore and material lying upon or adjacent to the bed rock into the path of excavation of the dredger, so that the bed rock is swept clean and the heaviest deposits of ore, which usually lie upon the bed rock, are obtained and raised by the dredger to the washing or concentratin g devices.

My invention accordingly consists of the combinations, constructions and arrange ments of parts, as hereinafter more particularly described in the specification and point ed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the aecompanyingdraw- T ings, wherein Figure l is a sectional elevation representing part of a river bottom, a scow with dredging appliances, and a form of sweeper separate from the dredger, embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is an elevation, partly broken away, showing another form of sweeper. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section of the sweeper; and Fig. a a horizontal section of the same.

A represents the river bottom material; a, the bed rock; B, the scow; O, the dredger bucket, which in the drawings is represented as what is known as a clam shell dredger, but any other suitable form of dredger or excavating device may be used.

D represents the sweeper, which is secured to an arm or handle E, the latter being pivoted or suitably supported at e to the dredger arm 0 and provided with suitable chains or ropes e e passing over suitable pulleys, as shown in Fig. 1, and passing into the power house F, wherein they are controlled by the usual appliances, not shown in the drawings, as the same form no partof my invention; the rope e being used for oscillating or dragging the brush or sweeper handle E forward, and for elevating it, and the rope e for oscillating it backward and lowering it.

The sweeper D consists of a casing 01 of any suitable size and form,being preferably of a cylindrical form with an open bottom or mouth 01. In casing cl is mounted a brush or sweeper d of any suitable form and construction, and preferably so mounted in said casing that the latter is air tight relatively to the journals or shaft-bearings of the brush d Upon one end of the brush shaft is secured a water or other motor G for rotating the brush, which motor in detail is not illustrated in the drawings, as the particular form of motor forms no part of my invention.

In order to admit ofrotating the brush d free from resistance of water in the casing 01,

the latter is provided with a tube d which leads to an air compressing device within the power house; so that a pressure of air can be forced into the casing d to force out of it to the level of the line l--1 the water which would otherwise fill the casing and offer resistance to the rotation of the brush. As thebrush rotates freely through the casing, it can be rotated at a very high speed to effectually sweep any heavy particles of ore from the bed rock; or, in other words, it will thoroughly clean the same. I

The sweeping action of the brush, as above described, it will be noted, corresponds with that of similar devices used for carpet and analogous sweeping; or, in other words, is contradistinguished from the action of dragging or slowly moving a brush beneath the water, as has heretofore been done when forming part of, or is attached to the dredging or excavating appliances.

If desired, the sweeping action of the brus may be assisted by the exhaust water from the motor G, and to this end the casing d atits rear'lower edge is provided with a channel 01 which communicates with the exhaust port of the motor, as shown more plainly in Fig. 4. The motor is connected by a pipe g to a suitable force pump located in the power house, the pressure of which pump forces a supply of water through the pipe g to the motor for rotating the brush and thence through the exhaust port thereof to the channel d whence it forcibly emerges in an elongated stream in the direction of and beneath the brush, to assist the latter to disintegrate and sweep the material on the bed rock into the path of the dredger, as shown at m, Fig. 3.

I prefer to move the sweeper forward and effect the sweeping operation as the dredger is raised, and to move the sweeper backward as the dredger is lowered, but these two devices may be operated otherwise, as desired.

In working in shallow rivers, where the weight of the arm or handle E need not be considered, the sweeper D may be attached directly to the lower end of said handle or arm; but, to avoid the weight of the handle or arm E upon the sweeper D, I prefer the form shown in Fig. 2, wherein the sweeper has a link connection d with the lower end of handle E, which, if desired, may be provided with a supporting roller e In this construction, the air in the casing d will make the sweeper more or less buoyant; and its action will be still more effective.

From the foregoing it will be noted that the sweeping device is separate from the dredging appliances, and both of said devices are actuated separately. The sweeper, therefore, may be secured to the scow or other device used to support it, in any desired place; and, as the brush rotates freely through its casing, it has a positive sweeping motion, which may be of any desired speed or velocity.

As it is obvious that the details of my improvements may be greatly varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, I do not confine myself to the details shown and described.

The dredgerherein described is a positively acting dredger, or one which is positively caused to descend to the river or other water bottom, positively actuated to fill itself with material, and then raised and its contents discharged this operation being repeatedly therefore, independent of the positively acting dredger.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A sweeping device for sub-river operations, composed of a movable handle, a casing attached to the lower end of said handle, a rotary brush mounted on said casing, an air pressure pipe for said casing, and actuating devices for said brush and handle, substantially as set forth.

2. A sweeping device for sub-river operations, having an oscillating arm or handle, a casing and a rotary brush, a link connection between said casing and handle, an air pressure pipe for said casing, and actuating devices for said brush, substantially as set forth.

3. A sweeping device for sub-river operations, comprising a handle, a casing with a rotating brush jointed to said handle, and an air pressure pipe extending into said casing, substantially as set forth.

4. A sweeping device for sub-river operations, comprising a handle, a casing, a brush in said casing, a water motor for rotating said brush, a communication between the exhaust port of the motor and a channel at the rear lower edge of the casing, and an air pressure pipe extendinginto said casing, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination with a positively actuated dredger, of a positively actuated sweeper separate from and actuated independently of a positively actuated dredger.

6. The combination of a positively acting dredger, with a sweeper having actuating mechanism separate from the dredger which has mechanism for moving it without moving the sweeper.

CHARLES F. PIKE.

Witnesses:

A. P. FRITZ, W. D. BENNAGE. 

